Itinerary: 3 days on Isabela Island

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Isla Isabela is the largest Galapagos Island but it only has a very small population and feels very secluded. It’s a great spot for wild, beautiful landscapes and up close and personal wildlife encounters. If you aren’t able to do a cruise on the Galapagos then the next best thing is to spend some time on Isabela Island. Its also a great option if you don’t like organised tours (like me). I don’t mind them on occasion but I definitely prefer to explore on my own.

GENERAL INFO

See my post here on travelling the Galapagos Islands for general information about the Galapagos.

As always, I recommend comparing accomodation and prices on booking.com. We stayed at Hostal Cerro Azul which was great as it had a kitchen for us to cook in and lots of places to relax.

There is no airport on Isabela Island – the only way in or out is via the small passenger ferries which travel at set times twice a day. Landing on Isabela Island requires an extra $10 docking fee (ontop of the cost for the ferry).

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

Concha Perla 

Concha Perla is a secluded little snorkelling spot right next to town. To get here, walk 10 mins out of town towards the main dock. Just before you reach the wharf; there is a little slightly hidden boardwalk with a sign that leads to Concha Perla – a short way along this boardwalk you will end up reaching a small ladder leading into the water.

Los Tuneles

Los Tuneles is a great snorkelling spot close to Isabela Island – tours head here daily. We took a half day tour with Rosadelco and it was well worth the trip! We saw seahorses, octopus, mating turtles, stingrays and dived into a cave filled with sharks. On the way back we also saw giant MANTA RAYS which was the coolest thing ever. They were larger than our boat.

Sierra Negra

Sierra Negra is the second largest active volcano in the world and it last erupted in 2005. Rosadelco (the same company as the tour above) takes a tour here so you can hike the volcano. It’s about a 5 hour hike with 45 minutes travel across the island each way. The landscapes are gorgeously wild.

Tortoise Breeding Centre and Pozas de Las Diablas

The Isabela Tortoise Breeding Centre and Pozas de las Diablas (some ponds with flamingoes) are just a short walk outside of town. You walk along a boardwalk that passes the 3 ponds with flamingoes to get to the breeding centre.

Playa Grande

Relax at the beach right in front of the town. Plenty of wildlife can be observed here such as sea lions, penguins and iguanas.

Bike to Muro de las Lagrimas

Hire some bikes for the day to bike to Muro de las Lagrimas to see a wall that prisoners built (at one point there were prisoners on Isabela Island). Supposedly thousands of prisoners died during the wall’s construction. The wall is about 5 km from town. There is a beautiful lookout point here above the wall. Follow the path leading up the mountain on the left side of the wall up until the final lookout post.

On the way back there are lots of stops to take along the bike trail: Cerro Radar, Cerro Orchilla, Tunnel de Estero (best visited at low tide), Playa de Amor, Pozas Verdes, and La Playita. There are signs along the way.

I hope you love Isla Isabela as much as I did!

Erika xx